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| The following peoples
memories of the Hardraw Brass Band Contest are recorded on this page.
1936 WENSLEYDALE. Ella Pontefract and Marie Hartley 1958 Dalesman E Proctor writes 1959 Edgar Routh an exiled Dalesman writes 1959 H. Dinsdale from Skeeby, Richmond
In
the Decmber 1958 Dalesman E Proctor of Ingleton writes: I
was a member of the newly reformed Ingleton Brass Band and played
at Hardraw. ‘It was during the Summer of 1934. We gave a concert
in aid of Leeds Infirmary….At that time the bandstand was in
very good repair.’
Black
Dyke Mills Band has performed at Hardraw Scar Band Contest. ‘About
Hardraw’ DALESMAN MAGAZINE Vol 21 Page 43/44. April 1959. The
bandstand has no long history, built by the late Edmund Blythe,
of Hawes after the first world war an a gallant attempt to revive
the renowned brass band and choral contests of the last part of
last century. The
old music contests were started in 1880 by a committee of public
spirited people about Hawes who offered substantial prizes (for
those days) to the best brass bands and choral societies to compete
in the grounds of Hardraw Scaur, which were lent by the Earl of
Wharncliffe. The contests were usually held on the last Saturday
of June. Edgar
Routh an exiled Dalesman writing in 1959 says: ‘A
list of the committee, which I possess, is dated 1888. It then comprised:
President, Dr Richardson, of Hawes (whom, with silk hat and frock
coat, I remember); treasurer, J. W. Fryer; secretary, George Broderick;
assistant secretary, John Hesltine, junior; committee, E. Moor,
F.W.W. Matthews, W.H.M.Fawcett, B.Thompson, J.L.Metcalfe, A. Johnson,
F.Lister, W.L.Metcalfe, C.Moore, S.Moore, J. Cockburn and J. F.
Fawcett. From
the first contest in 1880 the events were well-supported by the
whole of the North of England until, on Wednesday, the 12th
July, 1899, a tremendous thunderstorm, or cloudburst, ruined the
old Scaur and made a new watercourse. The adventures of Hardraw
village in that flood disaster make a separate epic, but in the
Green Dragon Inn, through which access to the Scaur is gained, they
still shoe the mark in the tap- room and on the inside door to which
the flood-waters reached. The
heyday of Hardraw Scaur, when crowds of many thousands listened
to the band and choir, has long since been over. For our ancestors
the contests were often their only holiday, and the trains brought
people from the manufacturing towns of Yorkshire and Lancashire-those
who had left the dale, or their descendants – to renew old
ties with their kith and kin. There were occasions which meant more
than music, good though it was. So
far as I know there was no actual bandstand near the entrance to
the Scaur though the bands and choirs made music on level swards
at the bottom and the top of the Scaur. After
the great flood the contests ended until, with the close of the
first world war, the late Edmund Blythe bought the grounds and laboured
with enthusiasm and really hard work to bring the Scaur into a safe
condition for contests and the big crowds once more. One of his
joys was to build the bandstand near the little bridge. I myself
played in the stand soon after it was built, but it was not there
in the times of the ‘’historic’’ contests. By
Mr. Blythe’s enterprise a few comparatively local bands were
able to hold contests in the early 1920’s, but his efforts,
time and money to make the revival succeed were disappointing, because
a little afterwards an amenity called radio developed and good music
could be heard cheaply in the home. Yet I have always thought that
Mr. Blythe was never given his proper due for that courageous, if
unsuccessful, venture…….’ H.
Dinsdale from Skeeby, Richmond writes in the same issue: ‘I
have made some inquiries from Mr. Kit Calvert, of Hawes, and Mr.
George Metcalfe, the bandmaster of Hawes Silver Band, who has been
able to enlighten me on the last time the bandstand was used for
concerts. I
have on loan from Mr. Metcalfe some copies of the programme in use
in 1925 and 1926, which would appear to be when the last full contest
took place. I am informed that only two bands competed on the last
occasion, which would probably be in 1927. The
1925 programme shows the bandstand occupied and the adjudicators’
and committee tents erected alongside. There were spectators massed
in the grounds. The programmes are priced 3d (1.5p) in 1925 and
2d (1p) in 1926. I
can recall attending the band contest or ‘’Grand Musical
Festival,’’ in my youth, and the last occasion on which
I was present was in 1923 when I, along with Mr. Albert Watson,
of Wensley and Carleton, in Coverdale, ran a shuttle service from
Hawes Station to Hardraw Scaur, with Watson Bros.’ Victory
Charabanc, at a charge of 6d,for each journey. We conveyed most
of the competing bands and many spectators on that beautiful summer
day. The
people attending the contests came from Lancashire, Yorkshire and
Durham, practically all by trains. Incidentally, four choirs competed
in 1925 and there were five choirs in 1926. WENSLEYDALE. Ella Pontefract and Marie Hartley. Published 1936. Living
next door to the Green Dragon is a tall, lean-faced dalesman who
looks younger than his 70 years. John William Sharples, who, during
his life, has been quarryman, coalminer and farm servant, remembers
Hardraw Scaur in all its moods, for he was born in the village and
has never wandered far away. There
was one day in the year when the valley below the Scaur was ‘’black
wi folks.’ ’That was when the band contests were held.
Attracting brass bands and choirs from all parts of the North. The
musicians arrived at Hawes railway station and usually played through
the main street before journeying on to Hardraw. Wagonettes had
a busy time transporting the bands, choirs and the hundreds of people
who were drawn to Wensleydale on the great day. The
bands- they included such famous combinations as Black Dyke, White
Temperance and Besses o’ th’Barn- played in a covered
bandstand below the waterfall, and before the competitions they
often managed a little last minute practice in the village. The
choirs sang on the banks of the stream above the fall.Tents were
erected by people selling refreshments; there were ‘’into
t’ teens o’ bobbies’’ and one character sold
Doncaster butterscotch to the crowds. The steep valley below the
Scaur gave the music a special quality. |
